The other day I finally threw out the musty jar of marjoram I probably bought back in the last century, and it got me obsessing on how some seasonings are more useless than most. Can anyone even taste marjoram, even from a new jar? At least dried dill has a flavor, although it's not anything you would want near your fresh fish, or even your ultrapasteurized sour cream. But my breakfast this morning was an outstanding raisin-walnut roll flecked with black pepper. Then at lunch three of us were talking about how good the "fresh ground" black pepper made the Kettle Brand potato chips, and that got us talking about how the rent on the first park in New York City (Bowling Green) was one peppercorn a year, a factoid I picked up at the lame Joel Meyerowitz photo show at the Museum of the City of New York. We argued over whether that was a symbolic payment or just evidence that one peppercorn really was once worth that much, but my vote was definitely for the latter notion.

This week marks the 17th annual "Healthy Weight Week," according to the Healthy Weight Network (www.healthyweight.net), a group that promotes "healthy living at any size." The group aims to debunk fad diets and spotlight "quakery" in the weight loss field, while promoting lifelong healthy eating habits rather than crash dieting. Check out the group's site for ways to celebrate, and for reasons not to diet.

A good resource if you're trying to figure out your healthy weight is Self.com's "Happy Weight Calculator," which asks you various questions to help you "find a healthy number you can maintain without obsessing." And to deliciously maintain your happy weight, see Epicurious's thousands of healthy recipes, menus, and features.

If you're not a reader, you may have missed Japan Probe's most recent fast food news: Pizza Hut's new Cheese Harmony pizza, a less-than-harmonious combination of Parmesan, mozzarella, cheddar, and deep-fried cheese chunks on (and inside) a pizza crust, topped with mini wedges of Camembert.

Is this for real? These monstrosities always remind me of Saturday Night Live's Taco Town taco commercial, which was, of course, a parody:

It was announced today that the British candymaker Cadbury has agreed to an £11.9 billion (about $19 billion) takeover by American company Kraft. While acquisitions like this are common in the corporate world, this one has quite a few people riled up. To start, many Brits are worried about job losses. And indeed, in an interview today with the BBC, Cadbury chairman Roger Carr acknowledged that cuts would be an "inevitability," though Kraft has said it plans to invest in Cadbury's U.K. factories.

But beyond the job fears, U.K. patriots are horrified at the thought of a huge American corporation taking over a British institution with a proud, independent 186-year history. In recent days, signs have cropped up outside Cadbury's Birmingham headquarters, festooned with British flags and reading "Kraft Go to Hell." Chocolate fans are warning that Kraft's history of making what they call "plastic cheese" spells doom for Cadbury's iconic, rich, creamy Dairy Milk bars.

A few weeks ago some girlfriends and I hosted a potluck. We each brought an appetizer or snack to nibble on while we all caught up. My contribution was avocados on toast; another friend brought crudités with roasted-red pepper hummus. While ideal, the snacks were neither exceptional nor innovative. I knew one friend was making a salad but I figured it would probably be a goat cheese something or other with toasted nuts. It's not a bad salad, just not creative. Little did I know that I was about to have the best salad of my life.

In a matter of minutes, this friend prepared a spinach salad that came to life with the help of sautéed red onions, crumbled feta and sherry vinegar, and NO BACON. As the warm onion concoction got mixed into the pile of spinach, the leaves began to wilt a bit. The sweet smell of the opaque yet charred caramelized onions enhanced the mild milky feta; together these two ingredients were like two peas in a pod. I pretty much ate the whole dish by myself, but the other guests who were able to sneak in a bite were also impressed. I asked my friend for the salad recipe, assuming it was an old family secret, but lo and behold, it was Epicurious's own Wilted Spinach Salad with Warm Feta Dressing recipe.

I have since made this salad about seven times, and have emailed the recipe to many who've loved it, too. Go ahead, give it a try. Or perhaps you have a salad recipe that you think is even better? If so, describe it.

Today I am on LXTV in the New York metro area (it's live from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. on NBC) showing some of my new favorite kitchen tools and gadgets. I'm bringing some cool OXO pairing knives, which come with rubber sheaths for safety; a cheese grater from Mario Batali that protects your fingers from getting scratched up and encases the cheese; the blender on steroids known as a Vitamix; Casabella's color-coded cutting boards to prevent cross contamination; and an OXO tong with a nylon head (pictured), which doesn't scratch nonstick pans. What about you? What are some of your favorite kitchen tools right now?

The BBC reports that the scoops include "chilli, tomato, gherkin, onion, mushrooms in wine, garlic, and cream of crab." Macaroni cheese and sardines-in-brandy are other options for the brave of palate.

Are you tempted by any of these offbeat flavors? Which ones would you try? And have you tasted any really off-the-wall ice cream that you'd recommend?

The latest issue of Reader's Digest has a feature that focuses on views about weight and dieting from around the world. The publication commissioned a poll of about 16,000 people in 16 countries, including the United States, the U.K., Finland, the Netherlands, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Switzerland, Mexico, Germany, France, the Philippines, China, Russia, Hungary, and India. Some tidbits from the article: Brazilians feel the most pressure to be thin; the U.S. is where wives most want their husbands to lose weight; Russians are the most likely to blame heredity for their weight problems, while the French are most likely to point the finger at American fast food and eating habits for their growing waistlines...

Chickpeas are my emergency-backup ration, but usually I only open a can when I'm home alone; my consort won't touch them unless they've been pureed and disguised as hummus. The other weekend, though, he stunned me by ordering the special soup in the new cafe at the Museo del Barrio across Central Park. I don't know if it was because the woman behind the counter called the main ingredient garbanzos or if he was seduced by the sight and smell of the chorizo when she ladled some up to show him. Whatever. He ate it happily. Which gave me the courage to try a knockoff version yesterday when it was raining and we needed food fast. I had a good Niman Ranch chorizo in the freezer, so it took no time to cube it and sauté it with a couple of cloves of garlic, about a half-teaspoon each of ground cumin and Mexican oregano, plus some chipotle flakes, then simmer it with half a big can of crushed tomatoes, some stock and a drained can of chickpeas. We had our stew-y soup with grated Cheddar on top and fresh cornbread on the side. Bob not only ate it happily but went back for seconds. And I started thinking about making it again, with another favorite cheap trick he doesn't quite get: canned hominy. I can pass it off as pozole.

A bubbling, saucy stew with a perfect mix of meat and veggies, hearty and warming in the winter. Perhaps a hunk of buttery, toasty bread to sop up the gravy. The perfect leftover. Unfortunately, I'm usually too impatient and eat these dishes right away, leaving only a skimpy portion for the second day. [Note to self: Must start planning ahead.]

Why do some foods taste even better after a night in the fridge? Is there a scientific principle involved? Perhaps to do with liquid in the recipe? Inquiring cooks need to know. I also wonder if these better-next-day foods would reach their peak flavor immediately by simply preparing them in a slow cooker. I think more research is in order.